SAT Writing Tips: How to Ace This Transition Question
Explore the concept of transitions and examine a SAT question that puts this writing skill to the test.
This email is written by Program Officer Jasmine Ngo.
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Tigerway Team Members, Parents, and Prospective Families,
In this email, we will be reviewing a HOT topic on the SAT exam: transitions.
Transitions are words, phrases, or sentences that help connect ideas and create a cohesive flow in your writing.
There are three types of transitions:
Continuers: Indicate that two sentences are expressing similar ideas. (emphasis)
Contradictors: Indicate that two sentences are expressing different ideas. (contrast)
Cause-and-effect: Indicate that one action is the result of another. (time)
Transitions signal the relationship between the previous and next sentences or paragraphs.
Let's review a real-life SAT question that tests your ability to use transitions effectively in your writing.
Make sure to try this question out first before reading my commentary
March 2022 SAT:
It is important that we first understand the key ideas of this paragraph.
Shelly Palmer, a CEO, finds his messy desk cleaned by his family member without his permission.
There are “clean desk policies” that may distract an employee’s performance.
Shelly relates his workplace to his personality.
Now, we identify where a new idea is being introduced in the paragraph.
The sentence that introduces a new idea is "As it turns out, the state of an employee’s desk can reflect a number of things about an employee’s personality”. We want to focus on the choices that relate to how Shelly connects his workplace with his personality.
We can eliminate choices A and B. They do not connect the new idea of personality to the previous sentence. Instead, they talk about employee complaints and schedules.
We can also eliminate choice D because it also doesn’t connect the new idea of workplace personality. Instead, it focuses on detail about filing systems for workers which are non-related to personality.
The Answer: C. It introduces the new idea of how the imposition of order in the workplace is not limited to a worker's personal desk, but rather extends to the entire workspace, affecting their overall performance.
By choosing the correct transition, you can make your writing more concise and clear. Make sure to pay attention to context, key ideas, and the purpose of each sentence. By keeping these in mind, you will have an easier time considering which transition would best connect the ideas within the passage.
Transitions remain an IMPORTANT topic on the SAT. Transitions integrate with many other SAT topics like add/delete/revise. More practice with transitions will help you improve your skills in other areas in the Writing section.
Further resources:
Jack Delehey’s College Confidence Group is a forum-based community where Jack and I answer general questions for parents with college-bound teens.
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